Machine for manufacturing trunk slats, strips, and moldings.



E. T. BRADBURY.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING TRUNK SLATS, STRIPS, AND MOLDINGS. APPLICATION FILED JAN-24. 1914.

1,21 7,907. Patented Mar. 6, 1917.

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MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING TRUNK SLATS, STRIPS, AND MOLDINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.24. 1914.

Patented Mar. 6, 1917.

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MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING TRUNK SLATS, STRIPS, AND MOLDINGS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 24. I914.

Patented Mar. 6, 1917.

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mama T. BRADBURY, orsr. Louis; rarsso'onr.

MACHINE ron menurecronme Tamar; stars, srrtrr-s, AND MOLDINGS.

Application filed January 24, 191a. Serial No. 814,210.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EBEN T. BnAnBURY, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Manufacturing Trunk Slats, Strips, and Moldings, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in machines for manufacturing wooden slats or strips of the character used for strengthening or reinforcing trunks and similar articles, and other strips and mold ings. p

Among the objects of the invention are to produce a simple, economical, durable'and eflicient machine which will produce at a single operation a plurality of properly dressed slats, which maybe operated at high speed so as to have a large output, and which will deliver the slats in assembled condition convenient for bundling.

lVith these and possibly other objects in view, the invention includes the novel features of construction and arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined by the appended claims' A machine embodying my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which J Figure 1 is a side elevation;

Fig.2'is aplan View;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail;

Figs. & and 4 are detail views of forms of knife;

Figs. 5 and ing means; and

Fig. 7 is a detail yiew of the spring presser finger. g

Referring by reference characters to this drawing, the numeral 1 designates the frame of the machine having a bed or table 2 to receive the blanks to be operated upon. These blanks are simply plain unfinished strips of wood of approximately the shape of a lath and in order to enable a plurality of them to be passed simultaneously and-in proper position through the machine, the bed or table is provided with a plurality of longitudinally disposed ribs 3 forming between them channels or guideways within which the strips travel between the feed rolls and past the cutters.

Two pairs of feed rolls are used, one pair,

Specification of Letters Patent.

6 are detail views of the stack Patented Mar. 6, 1917. r

4:, 4 being located in advance of the cutters and the other pair 5, 5?,111 rear thereof, each pair comprising an upper and a lower roll between which the blanks are gripped and by which they are fed forward. The peripheries of the lower rolls project through openings in the bed,and the rolls are driven by gearing in the customary manner; These rolls-are of the sectional yielding type, that is the roll shaft carries a plurality of spring or elastically supported corrugated gripping rings which, while all turning in unison with the roll shaft, yet can yieldind vidually sufficlently'to compensate for irregularltles 1n the stock, but as' 'the specific construction of the roll itselfforms' no part of my invention detailed descriptionthereof is unneces-. sary herein. V

To produce the properly finished slat the blank must be dressed on its upper surface and have its sides rounded and dressed and secured thereto by bolts 6 or in any desired manner. 7 a

The other two faces are provided with pairs of reversely. placed knives secured by olts 6 having their heads adjustably seated in the longitudinal dovetailed grooves 7 of the cutter head 7, the projecting portions of these knives having curved cutting edges 6 for this purpose I provide cutting edges of I with cutters 6, and these cutters'may extend the entire length of thecutter head, being fortrimming the side edges of the blanks,

as clearly shown in Fig. e."

By means of the slot 7 the knives or cutters 6 may be adjusted towardor from each other to suit different sizes of blanks or strips.

Instead of havingthe straight edges on I one set of cutters and the curved edges on another, I maycombine them as shown in Fig. 4 In this form each'cutter 6 would dress the top and sides of the strip, and ad justment would be effected by removing the cutters and replacing them with ones ofdifbar 9.

'ferent width. Slots or grooves 2 are provided in the bed into which the projecting portions 6" of the blades can pass, thus enabling them to cut clear past the bottom edges of the blanks.

The cutter head 7 is journaled in the frame of the machine and driven in any desired manner from anysuitable source of power.

In advance of the cutter head and between it and the front feed roll islocated a chip breaker 8,-and in rear of the cutter a presser Owing to the projections on the knives above referred to this presser bar can not be set very close to-the edges -6 -ofthe cutters. Some woods, when out to the thinness necessary for trunk staves, havea tendency to curl on passing the cutter, and to prevent any danger oi the strip catching on the edge of the presser bar the lower edge of the bar is provided with a plurality of forwardly and slightly upwardly extending fingers 9 which project in between the portions 6 of the rotating knives.

At the rear end of the machine I. provide means for stacking the finished staves which comprises a receiving box 10 having partitions 10 forming intervening compartments which are in alinement with theguideways of the bed of the machine. This collecting box has a bottom ll inclining downwardly from the delivery end of the table or bed,

and as the finished strips are fedfromthe machine their advancing ends pass between the partitions 10 and as soon as their opposite ends have clearedthe hold down bar 12 which is adjustable toward and from the end of the bed, the strips or stays tip clown-ward and slide intoplace either onthe-inclined bottoms of the compartments, or onto the strips previously deposited therein, from which'they may be taken in bundlesready for packi g.

In order thatwthe machine may beadapted to handle difierent widths of strips, :1 provide in one wall of each guideway -a yielding presser device for pressing the strip against the opposite'wall of the guideway.

This I preferably accomplish by forming a recess 13 in each 'guideway within-which is located a spring presser arm or finger-14L. One end of this finger-is of ring'form, as indicated at 14, providedwith recesses a in its upper edge to receive the projections a ota cap or clamping ring 15 secured to the bed by a bolt 16.

By this means the spring fingers maybe adjusted to project more or less from: their recesses to act against the sides of the blanks and thus hold them in alinement-with the knives.

It will be understood: that -:with narrower blanks, knives of correspondingly reduced width would be used.

It will be understood that while I have de-- scribed my invention as designed more es pecially for the manufacture of trunk slats,

"it is not confined to the production of this specific article, and is capable of being used 1n the production of moldmgs or strips of other forms.

at a, and having their lower ends provided with a pin and slot or other-interlockii'ig connection with the bottom as-indicated at a and their tops suitably held by members or bars 5.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. In a machine of the class described, a bed having a plurality of longitudinally dis posedribs extending throughout its length and'formlng channels or-guide ways within -w111ch the blanks are adapted to travel, a rotary cutter head having. cutters correspondlng toeach guldeway'and shaped to dress the top and sides of the blanks, feed rollers for moving theblanks across the bed, a transversely disposed chip breaker located in ad vance of said cutter-head and a correspond ing presser bar located in rear of said cutter :head. provided at its'forward end with intetgralfingers projecting slightly upward between the several cutters, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the class described, a bed having a plurality of. longitudinally disposed ribs extending: throughout its length forming channels or guideways within which the blanks are adapted to' travel, ro-

tary cutter means provided with cutters corresponding to each guide va-y, feeding means for the blanks, a chip breaker located in advance of: the cutter means, a' presser bar located in rear of the cutter means, a hopper having a bottom inclining downwardly-from the-"delivery end-ot the bed andprovided with partitions forming compartments alin ing: with the said channels-0r guide-ways and a'hold-down bar over the. guide-ways, sub-- stantially as described. 7

:EBEN T. BRADBURY. Witnesses:

WILLIAM B. HOMER, ROLAND 'M. HOMER.

Copies of this patent may-be-obtained' for-fivecents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

